Issue 11 - 2 August 2022

Newsletter Articles

VISION STATEMENT

PRINCIPAL’S PEN

Dear Families,

I have spent a large portion of the last couple of weeks counting my blessings. It’s easy to get into the habit of being envious of others and what they have, but I find it most rewarding when I don’t worry about that and focus on the positives and blessings of everyday life, no matter how small they may appear. Catholic Education Week was a terrific time to take stock of this. At St Rita’s we are truly blessed with an outstanding group of parents, teachers and support staff who go above and beyond to meet the needs of our students. I am truly grateful for the support I receive from our wider school community to make our school the best place it can possibly be, a world-class institution in the heart of Babinda.

Catholic Education Week

Although our Festivities at Innisfail were cut completely this week, we have revised our plans and will host our own liturgy at St Rita’s assembly this Friday. Parents are welcome to attend our own celebration this Friday at 1:45pm.

Last Friday, several staff attended the annual DOCEMUS awards night which was held at St Andrews and Redlynch. Our very own, Debbie Kurucz was nominated for an award under the School Officer category. While she was not successful in obtaining the award, Debbie has shown over a number of years just how dependable and hard-working she is, always having the school families interests at heart. It was tremendous that Debbie was again recognised for her tireless work for our school community. Well done Deb.

Last Monday, we held our own special assembly to acknowledge our Catholic Education Week award winners and present our winners of the St Rita’s artwork award. Our Catholic Education Week awards are presented to a student in each class who consistently exhibits the values of our school and Catholic Education. Well Done to Yazmin, Leo and Ebony who were announced of the winners of their respective grades. They were all more than worthy recipients.

For the St Rita’s portrait award this year we had many worthy winners, and it was put to the Parish Community to cast their votes. Congratulations goes to all our finalists and winners. Jessie won for P/1/2, Jax for 3/4 and Evie for 5/6. All received a prize pack and will have their artwork hung in their classroom. Our overall winner was Katara, whose art was converted to canvas and is now displayed prominently in our school office. She also received a prize pack and a framed copy of the original piece. Thanks to Fr Hilary Flynn who was on hand to present and bless our winning pieces.

Relationships Education

Recently CES have reviewed the Relationship & Sexuality programs being offered by our schools. In primary schools, Real Talk will now be offered to the year 5/6 students, and the year P-4 students will be covered by the Daniel Morcombe Curriculum and Health and PE Curriculum. If you would like to find out more, CES are offering zooms on these topics to be held this week. The year 5/6 zoom will take place this Wednesday 7.30pm-8.30pm, and the P-4 zoom is on this Thursday from 1.30pm-2.30pm. The zoom can be accessed at the link below, please contact the school if you would like to use our facilities to access the meetings.

Cassowary Coast Athletics

Congratulations to all our St Rita’s students for representing our school so admirably at last week’s meet.

Every single student gave their all and can be very proud of their efforts. With a little extra training, the sky is the limit for these children.

Well done to Latoya, Katara, Jude, Tia, Evie, Yazmin, Jax, Brayden, Annabelle & Rhylee. We are so proud!

A special well done to Katara who was our only ribbon winner from the day. She achieved a first in high jump, a first in long jump and a third in shotput. She also qualified for the 100m final. We wish her the very best as she prepares for the next level of competition in the coming weeks.

100 Days of Prep

Well done to our littlest members of our school who last week achieved 100 days of Prep. It was a party atmosphere in the P/1/2 area last Thursday as they celebrated this momentous occasion by dressing up as old people. Special thanks to Miss Wilson, Miss Jenni and Ms Benvenuti for organising such a wonderful day for our students. Well done to Ebony, Maddison, Madeline, Daniel and Jaxson on making it with flying colours.

Tennis and Dance

On Tuesday at St Rita’s we started our tennis program, thanks to special funding by Sporting Schools. This will run for 6 weeks for all students, much like the dance program which is into week 3 this week. A reminder for parents that sports uniform is permitted on these days. What great opportunities our St Rita’s kids get!

EduTech

Next week we are thrilled that Ms Douglas and Ms Benvenuti will be traveling to Melbourne to attend the EduTech conference. This is a National conference which will bring together education leaders from throughout the world. Having been a past attendee, I know the ladies will get an enormous amount from the conference and will bring back their learnings to the staff and students of St Rita’s. They will also spend a day with renowned educator, Gemma Goodyear who is principal of two schools in Melbourne’s North. Gemma has visited our school twice in the last year and it is a great opportunity for Ms Douglas and Ms Benvenuti to see her schools in action.

Camp

The countdown is on until 5/6 camp in week 9. The girls are very excited to be staying at Cairns Coconut Resort in Woree, sharing cabins with Ms Benvenuti and Ms Douglas. The girls are also spending the Friday on Green Island which they will snorkel the reef and learn about its historical significance. We will work with the girls to fill out other agenda items. In the meantime, if you haven’t already, please order a mug or item from the school office to further support the girls on their travels.

Michael Rowe
Principal

DEPUTY PRINCIPAL

Dear parents and carers,

What is MTSS?

A multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) is a proactive and preventative framework that integrates data and instruction to maximize student achievement and support students social, emotional, and behaviour needs from a strengths-based perspective. MTSS offers a framework for educators to engage in data-based decision making related to program improvement, high-quality instruction and intervention, social and emotional learning, and positive behavioural supports necessary to ensure positive outcomes for districts, schools, teachers, and students. The MTSS framework is comprised of four essential components: screening, progress monitoring, multi-level prevention system, and data-based decision. Depending on state law, MTSS data may also support identification of students with learning or other disabilities.

Some students struggle with academics. Others struggle with behavioural challenges. Still others struggle with both. How do schools respond to students with challenges or struggles that interfere with their ability to learn. St Rita’s uses a framework of interventions and supports designed to address these behavioural and academic challenges. This framework, known as MTSS, helps us identify struggling students early so that they may receive assistance quickly. But what is MTSS?

Defining MTSS

Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) is a framework that helps educators provide academic and behavioural strategies for students with various needs. MTSS grew out of the integration of two other intervention-based frameworks: Response to Intervention. As part of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) updated by Congress in 2004, the Response to Intervention model of assessment originally sought to identify students who would benefit from more intensive supports. From these beginnings as a tool to help improve educational outcomes for students in special education , MTSS has grown to encompass all students at every level.

Key Components of MTSS Instead of the “waiting for failure” assessment model of pre-IDEA days, MTSS takes a proactive approach to identifying students with academic or behavioral needs. Early assessment and intervention for these students can help them catch up with their peers sooner. The key components of MTSS include:

• Universal screening of all students early in the school year
• Tiers of interventions that can be amplified in response to levels of need
• Ongoing data collection and continual assessment
• Schoolwide approach to expectations and supports
• Parent involvement

Three Tiers of Support

MTSS provides a method of early identification and intervention that can help struggling students to catch up with their peers. As such, MTSS uses three tiers of support to assist all students at various levels. These three tiers include:

Tier 1 – Universal or primary – Majority of students (75-90%)

As the largest tier, and the foundation for the entire framework, Tier 1 encompasses the entire school with core instructions and basic interventions. This structure helps to build positive relationships between staff and students. It includes proactive classroom management strategies aimed at creating a supportive atmosphere. Students who do not respond to these interventions may move into Tier 2.

Tier 2 – Secondary – Small groups of students (10-25%)

Some students need a little extra assistance in meeting academic and behavioral goals, and it is in Tier 2 that these individuals receive that help. Often these interventions and supports are delivered in small group settings, such as reading groups. Check-In/Check-Out (CICO) interventions are often a part of Tier 2, as well. This targeted support allows students to work toward catching up with their peers.

Tier 3 – Tertiary – Individual students (< 10%)

A subset of students has significant challenges that do not respond to the interventions and supports in Tier 1 or Tier 2. Tier 3 gives these students individualized supports and can include assistance from outside agencies such as behavioural counsellors or family therapists.

MTSS tiers help schools to organize levels of supports based on intensity so that students receive necessary instruction, support, and interventions based on need. As such, student identities are not based on tier levels. Instead, individuals are identified as students in need of supports. This helps educators to respond appropriately and provide students with the assistance they need to prosper in the classroom. As we continue to collaborate with key stakeholders in our community, we are seeking any parents who wish to connect with us to contribute to our Student Matrix for expected behaviours. If you would like to consult with us, please email sbenvenuti@cns.catholic.edu.au

Kind regards,
Sam Benvenuti
Deputy Principal – Leader of Learning and Teaching

Counsellor’s Corner

Raising Resilient Children

Helping children learn to deal with their emotions is an important task. All children experience periods of stress in their lives and need the emotional skills to deal with it. Children’s emotional resilience or ability to cope with their feelings is important to their long-term happiness, wellbeing and success in life. Seminar Series Tip Sheets identify emotional resilience involves teaching these six key skills:

• Recognising, understanding and accepting different feelings
• Expressing feelings appropriately
• Developing a positive outlook, including being optimistic, interested in a variety of things and being content
• Developing effective ways of coping
• Acknowledging and dealing with negative feelings and unpleasant situations
• Learning to manage stressful life events

When children become emotionally resilient there are many benefits for them. They are more likely to be:

• Caring and socially skilled
• Empathic and sensitive to the needs of others
• Able to manage emotions and move through negative feelings to feel better again
• Able to cope with stress, like exams and unpleasant experiences like painful medical procedures in the future.

Children are also less likely to resort to unhelpful ways of coping, such as

• Acting out or misbehaving,
• Avoiding or denying a problem
• Relying on others to solve their problems or
• Seeking lots of sympathy from their care givers

For further information on these building blocks please contact Triple P at the link below, or if you would like a Raising Resilient Children Triple P Tip Sheet please contact Alana from ‘Every Family’ P 07 4061 7288 | M 0488 321 605 | E alana@vpginc.com.au |

Warm regards
Miss Jo
School Counsellor

DATE CLAIMERS

STUDENTS OF THE WEEK

St Rita’s School congratulates those students who were awarded ‘Student of the Week’ at Assembly on Friday 24th June 2022.

BIRTHDAY CONGRATULATIONS

St Rita’s wished Timothy Logan all the best for his birthday. We hope you had a wonderful birthday celebration Timothy!

P & F NEWS

At our last meeting general meeting, it was decided that the P&F will run a Father’s Day raffle. Letters and ticket books will be sent out later on this week. We are asking the parents to donate a small gift to make a basket of goodies for the raffle.

On Thursday 1st September we will also be organising a breakfast for father’s, grandfather’s and significant males in the tuckshop area at 7:45am. Friday 2nd September is not suitable day as it’s a student free day.

Your support will be very much appreciated.

Thanking you.

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

MUNRO THEATRE

TRIPLE P POSITIVE PARENTING